Tiger reaches rock bottom just in time to pick himself back up

Hey, I’ve won as many major championships as Tiger Woods in the past seven years!

This Thanksgiving, my thoughts turned to Tiger Woods. It represents the seventh anniversary of when his personal and professional life fell apart, but just how far has he fallen?

(Source/Augusta).

How good was Tiger?

For reference, we should really consider just how good Tiger was before his personal life started crashing down around him.

There was no doubt that he was the best in the world, and the general consensus was that he would go on to become the undisputed best of all time. Before the age of 35, he’d already won 14 majors, second only to Jack Nicklaus in major wins. At that pace, he was sure to pass the Golden Bear for most all time. There was talk amongst golfers whether or not the man was bad for the game, given how absolutely dominant he was. Every year, we knew Woods was going to win a major. The question was how many, and by how much?

Source: Andy Lyons/ALLSPORT

This all began to crumble as Woods’s personal life began to fall apart. When he took a leave from golf in the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, it was assumed that that would be the end of it. He took time to sort his life out, and now he would be back to the old, dominant Tiger. But that Tiger never came back. Even when he was competitive in tournaments, it wasn’t the same Tiger that we’d known since 1997. He maintained his World Number One title for some time, but began to quickly slip as majors proved elusive and injuries began to pile up.

Wait, how low?

After two back surgeries in as many years, the former number one has reached a new low in the rankings. One of the best of all time isn’t in the Top 50. Or Top 100. Or Top 500.

Tiger Woods is currently ranked #861 in the world, which is a position no one thought he’d ever be in. These are the questions we are all thinking.. Will he ever return to his former self? Will the Hero World Challenge prove that his back is all better?